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Show "JOKER" MAY COST II. s. aoioio Act Found Which Clinches the Railroad's Right to Coast Oil Lands. BIG INTERESTS INVOLVED ; . . Railroad Relies on Statute of Limitation Lim-itation to Defeat Any Suit for the Land. . Special to The Tribune. WASHINGTON. D. C. June 11. Just as the government is sitting in for the biggest legal gatno It ever played the discovery Is made that It Is bound to lose and the Southern Pacific to win $500,000,-000 $500,000,-000 If the play goes on. The stakes are a great area of California's Califor-nia's richest oil lands. They were granted to the railroad with a clause in the grant expressly excepting all mineral lands save those containing coal and iron. Most of those lands were patented to the grantee more than six years ago. The Joker in the situation is a special statute of limitations, slipped through congress con-gress in an act of March 3, 1S91, and perfected per-fected by another act of March 2, 189C. Effect to Bar Proceedings. The effect of these acts, as construed by the United States supreme court. Is absolutely to bar proceedings by the government gov-ernment to annul a patent of land to a land-grant railroad after six years from tho Issuance of tho patent. Until theso acts ore repealed tho government has not a chance on earth td get back Its lands. Announcement has been made that within a few weeks the government will file suit as to these lands with Special Assistant Attorney General Townsend in nharge. The oil men of California are thoroughly aroused and alarmed by the discovery of the Joker. They are advised by some of the ablest lawyers in the state the suits can result only In confirming the railroad's title, and so they are appealing to Washington Washing-ton with all the force they can command to hold off the litigation until the joker act can be repealod. This they believe congress will not hesitate to do, once it knows the Inwardness and gravity of the situation. Suits already have been instituted with respect to lands patented to the railroad company less than six years ago, and as to these there Is no question.. The special spe-cial statute of limitations cannot affect these proceedings. As to tho contemplated contem-plated actions touching lands patented before be-fore June, 1905, there is certainty thai to sue now. before tho repeal of the acts of 1901 nnd 190G, would be to make a present pres-ent to tho Southern Pacific of about half a billion dollars. Involves Vast Territory. The magnitude of the Issue may bo appreciated ap-preciated when it In explained that tho Southern Pacific's empire on the Pacific slope ranges from Portland. Ore., southward south-ward to Yuma, Ariz , and from Sacramento, Sacra-mento, Cal., eastward to Salt L.akc City. It is composed of land grants made by congress to numerous railroad companies which have since become merged In tho Southern Pacific system. By acquiring ownership or control of these various railroads and their land grunts, the Southern Pacific company has become the largest and wealthiest land-holding land-holding corporation In the world. Tim aroa of hind bestowed upon theso railroads nnd now claimed by the Southern South-ern Pacific reaches tho enormous totul of 2G.177.G1R acres, a principality carved from the richest section of country on the globe. Forfeiture of Titlo Contended. 11 Is contended by the discoveries that make the Innd so valuable, the railroad has forfeited title. It was definitely stipulated stip-ulated that all mineral lands, except, coal and Iron, wore to bo eliminated from the grant. It was on the declaration of the railroad rail-road alone that the lands Wore not mineral min-eral that title was bestowed. It is to cancel can-cel those titles the government Is now acting. The value of these mineral lands hni5 been estimated from 55.00,000,000 upward. It may be twice ns great. |